S&S D with high strings/low action stack

[Andrew and Rebeca Anderson]

Avery,
I have discussed other issues with Kent Webb in the past and he has 
been very helpful, both in my understanding of the issues and on how 
to solve problems.  I mislaid his number, but I'm thinking of calling 
him via the switchboard and leaving a message.

Andrew

At 03:38 PM 10/16/2006, you wrote:
>Just out of curiosity, have you talked to Kent Webb? He "might" be able to
>help you solve this.
>
>Avery
>
>At 02:38 PM 10/16/2006, you wrote:
>>Before you make Steinway's problem your problem, take it to a higher level.
>>A service department tech is not necessarily in the position to give you the
>>final yes or no on what they should be willing to do on warranty.  All
>>"fixes" at this point are compromises.  You shouldn't have to do that on a
>>new D, in my opinion.  I don't recall exactly but doesn't this piano belong
>>to an institution?  Which dealer did they buy it from?  The institutional
>>department head involved in the purchase as well as the dealer should also
>>be in the loop.  You shouldn't allow yourself to be bullied into accepting
>>anything less than a proper fix or replacement and the burden should not
>>rest entirely on your shoulders.  BTW, keep a record of all correspondence.
>>
>>
>>David Love
>>davidlovepianos at comcast.net
>>www.davidlovepianos.com
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
>>Of Andrew and Rebeca Anderson
>>Sent: Monday, October 16, 2006 11:13 AM
>>To: Pianotech List
>>Subject: Re: S&S D with high strings/low action stack
>>
>>Continuing saga:
>>I spoke with a Steinway technician in the service department this
>>morning (name slips me) and have the following solution(s) recommended,
>>         He is sending 1/16" walnut shims cut to fit under the action feet
>>and raise the action by that much, I'll have to re-time the checking
>>&               reset let-off
>>         he recommends buying the un-bored Steinway hammers and custom boring
>>
>>them to take up some of the over-striking difference
>>                 (my measurements on the existing hammers suggest that they
>>have
>>been over-filed already by 1/8 -3/16" so my high grit           polishing
>>isn't the first time this has been done.)
>>We discussed string height and he gave one specification: note 66 is
>>to be 7&3/4" +/- 1/8" above the key-bed.  I pointed out that my
>>measurements put this area very close to 8".  He became a little
>>defensive and said that fixing this would require rebuilding the
>>piano and that Steinway wasn't going to do this (I had mentioned the
>>piano was still under warranty).  I then asked him about Steinway
>>policy regarding over-striking.  He plainly said that the hammers
>>shouldn't overstrike.  Of-course they all do now by significantly
>>more than the amount they have been filed under standard bore and
>>most likely were by a significant amount when the piano was new.
>>I mentioned checking and capsizing problems with too short hammer
>>tails too far above the action and he didn't have much to add other
>>than that shimming the action by 1/16 should help with the
>>capsizing.  He couldn't get me stats on the size of the un-bored
>>hammers.  I'm guessing they are the same size as the bored ones and
>>I'm not too enthusiastic about boring those much lower on the
>>tail.  Custom hammers by another hammer maker may be the better way
>>to go, but than there is the Steinway Only politics to deal with...
>>
>>So, my solution is drifting towards this:
>>         Shim the key-frame 1/16"
>>         Shim the action stack 1/16"
>>         Recommend new hammers (really this should be a warranty item too,
>>there is significant labor in this)
>>This gets me a third of the way with adequate clearance at the
>>fall-board and 1/16" clearance at the pinblock with the drop screws
>>backed all the way out.  Taller hammers will drag going in and out
>>and I'll have to watch that (had a mishap on a Chinese-made piano
>>yesterday).  By shimming both I reduce the problem to the
>>neighborhood of  1/16" so a lower bore won't be so worrisome.
>>
>>Do any of you have more to add?
>>
>>Andrew Anderson, Artisan Piano